All in a Day's Work
by noaoats
Summary: Snapshots of an unsteady relationship. BBRae.
1. Nightmare

**This is basically just a place for me to dump my BBRae ramblings and for me to improve my writing. Reviews are very much appreciated!**

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

A loud _thud _crashed in Raven's chest and she shot up, her eyes still braced against the blistering heat of Trigon. The comforting darkness of her room brought her to reality, and she deeply breathed in the mustiness of her ancient books. As she sat trembling in her bed, she swallowed the half-shriek still caught in her throat and glanced down to see that her hands were shaking. Sweat had gathered around her temples and neck, and her hair stuck to it in tiny clumps that made her pale skin feel dirty. Nightmares were a common occurrence for her, but she still hated the helpless feeling that accompanied her afterwards. Her racing heart started to slow and her breathing returned to normal as she half-closed her eyes. This was the third one this week.

Her feet tenderly settled on the ground as she slid out from under her covers to stand on shaky legs. While she normally felt more comfortable under her cloak, the thick comforter on her bed worked fine as she wrapped it around her shoulders and huddled in its warmth and security. Her t-shirt and flannel pants didn't provide much heat throughout the frigid, winter nights, but her nightmares usually made her sweat enough to keep warm. The panicked fever was slipping away, however, and the cold air rushed to press against the blanket barrier she had covered herself in.

The door to her room slid open with a quiet _hiss _as Raven leaned out, glancing around to make sure that she was alone. Her powers picked up a few unconscious forms, but her friends were such light sleepers that it was sometimes difficult to determine whether or not they were awake. While most people greeted others in times of distress, she preferred isolation. Her powers were too dangerous to risk the safety of others over a silly dream. Once she had assured herself that the hallway was empty, she began her trek to the kitchen.

Another _hiss _greeted her as she shuffled into the dimly lit room and streamlined for the cabinet that held her tea packets. Her thoughts were still swirling, but the warm liquid usually calmed her down enough to meditate until morning. The kettle was quickly filled with water and set on the stovetop with ease. As a quiet bubbling started to ping against the metal, she leaned against the counter and yawned, snuggling into the blanket further as she waited for the familiar whistle.

The cough that startled her sent the kettle crashing into the ceiling.

Raven spun, the blanket dropping to reveal her hands glowing in a black aura. Her feet were spread in a fighting stance as her eyes narrowed in preparation of a sneak attack.

"Whoah! I didn't mean to scare you!"

Beast Boy was sitting at one of the stools near the breakfast bar on the opposite side of the kitchen. His eyes were saucers when she had turned, but now they slanted upwards in amusement. His surrendering hands lowered to settle gently on the counter, where a plate of crumbs was resting. "Nice look, though I think the blanket topped it off."

She glanced down to see her crumpled pajamas and blushed, noticing that her pants had cartoon rainclouds on them. The comforter floated off the ground and dropped to land on her shoulders once again as she stooped to clean up the spilled water. Raven could hear his quiet chuckling behind her and tried not to grow irritated with herself. She must have been too distracted to see him as she came in. Although, she didn't understand why he was laughing. His pajamas were covered in smiling tofu burgers.

"Why are you up?" she asked, refilling the kettle and putting it back on the stove. She knew that the blanket she was wrapped in was silly looking, and she hated looking ridiculous in front of Beast Boy, but she was too tired to care. Her legs crossed under her as she lifted to sit on the counter, the comforter's extra fabric hanging off the edge.

"Silkie's snoring was too loud. I can sleep through a lot, but not World War III." He leaned his chin on a hand, regarding her with a look that said she was in for a lot of teasing. After a moment of silence, however, he slightly shook his head and smiled instead.

Raven's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied, too quickly for her liking. He saw her annoyed stare and sighed. "You just… I'm not used to seeing you so relaxed. You normally seem kind of reserved, even around us. But you're sitting over there in a blanket burrito and it's kind of cute."

Heat immediately flushed her face and she ducked her head to hide it behind the comforter. Cute? Her? "Oh… I, uh-"

She was saved from embarrassment by the shrill whistling that erupted beside her. Her feet hit the ground as she rushed to turn the heat off. The steam brushed her face as she poured the water into a cup and dropped the tea packet in, and it seemed to melt away some of her worries. This was Beast Boy, after all. They were teammates. Friends. Nothing more.

"So, why are _you_ awake?"

Raven shrugged and resumed her perch on the counter. "Just a bad dream is all." The cup was warm in her hand and calmed the knot wound tightly in her stomach. She sipped at it as she waited for the tea to steep. Beast Boy had gotten up to put his plate in the dishwasher and closed it as she watched him, turning to lean against the opposite counter.

"What was it about?"

"Not anything new. We don't have to talk about it." She did enjoy spending time with Beast Boy, but even though they had been friends for years, she was still uncomfortable sharing her feelings and emotions. The nightmare was a common one of hers, and not one that she preferred to think about. The changling didn't seem to care.

"You know," he started, being cautious about his approach, "sometimes it goes away if you talk about it. I know that you have a lot of nightmares."

Her head shot up as she gave him a surprised look. He gave a sheepish smile and looked down at his feet.

"I can sense a lot of stuff. Not as much as you, but I can still sometimes pick up when others are in distress. There's sweat and heat and..." Her face grew slightly disgusted so he tried to stop ranting. "Basically, I can tell when you have bad dreams. I don't usually pry 'cause I know you like your privacy, but it might help to get it off your chest. You know, if you feel comfortable talking about it."

Raven took the bag out of her tea with unsteady hands and threw it into the sink. It made a loud _thunk _as she gulped down her drink to avoid looking at her friend. They were traveling into unfamiliar territory to her. After everything that had happened with _Wicked Scary_, however, she knew better than to hide her fears.

"They're about Trigon," she murmured, pulling the blanket tighter around her. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed but he didn't try to interrupt her, so she continued. "He… he tells me that he's returning. That he found a way to escape the dimension I put him in. I know they're just dreams, but they feel so real sometimes. I wake up and his voice is in my head." Her eyes closed and she struggled to maintain her usual emotionless voice. "I don't think it'll ever truly go away. I'll always be his daughter. I'll always be a demon."

A weight on her shoulder made her look to her left. Beast Boy's hand was resting there, and she looked up at him to see a fierce determination etched into his face. It almost frightened her until he spoke.

"Raven, you may be his daughter, but that doesn't mean you're anything like him. That voice you're hearing is just from memories. He's gone, Rae. You did it. You sent him away, and he's not coming back." He paused for a moment before speaking at a lower volume. "I wish you would believe in yourself as much as I believe in you."

Her lips opened and closed as she strained to find words, but she eventually settled on a quiet "thank you" before giving him a slight smile. He returned it and nodded, appreciating her openness with him. Raven had to admit it—while the two constantly bickered, he always seemed to know how to comfort her when she needed it. It was a strange quality that seemed to mature him, though he spent most of his days cracking jokes and playing videogames.

Raven's thoughts were interrupted as she yawned, resting her head on the cupboard by her head. It was, after all, three in the morning. The team had been busy fighting Dr. Light for the majority of the afternoon and she was still exhausted from her excess use of powers. Her teammate noticed the yawn and laughed quietly. "Looks like you could use some more sleep. See you in the morning?"

Though talking had helped, the fear from her nightmare briefly resurfaced and left her with a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her expression hardly changed, but Beast Boy picked up on her hesitation. "You know, I'm going to be up playing some videogames 'till morning. Your bed's all the way on the other side of the Tower. If you want to crash on the couch, I won't wake you up. I'll leave the volume low."

"Yeah, that would be… nice. Thanks."

The two left the kitchen and plopped down on the couch. Raven bundled herself into a nest of pillows and blankets on one side as the changling settled down in the middle. Her eyes closed quickly due to the calming effects of the tea, but Beast Boy was wide awake. He dug in the cushions for a few minutes before victoriously producing a remote and controller. The television monitor flashed to life and within seconds he was pounding away at the buttons with an aggression that contradicted his usual mellow state. His score in the top-left corner rose steadily to meet Cyborg's high and his fang poked his lip in anticipation. The excitement kept him from noticing the gradual change on the clock from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

_ Congratulations! You are the new top winner! Enter your initials below._

The green Titan lifted his hands to exclaim victory when he felt a tiny shift near his leg. His arms lowered as he looked down to see that Raven shifted over on the couch, though she was still buried under a mountain of pillows. Her head was pressed up against his thigh, and she twitched again as she rolled to face away from him.

A grin toyed at his lip at her innocence. He had forgotten about her, and after a glance at the clock, he realized that it had been a few hours since they had left the kitchen. The other Titans would be awake soon, and the peaceful night the two friends had shared would end. He wished that it could last longer.

Sighing, he leaned over and pulled the comforter up from where it had fallen from Raven's feet. After the sleepless nights she had endured, he was grateful for the few hours he was able to help her achieve. A yawn found its way up his throat, and he returned his attention to the game, even as a heavy pressure began to work its way into his head. He only lasted a few more minutes before his eyes closed in slumber.

* * *

Starfire was the first to awaken, and she floated into the living area with bunny slippers hanging off her feet. Her usual straight hair was tousled about her head in messy tangles, and the yellow crust she was digging out of her eyes seemed almost fossilized. She had slept _very _well after their eventful afternoon.

She stopped as she passed behind the couch, leaning over when two giant lumps caught her attention. A hand lifted to cover her mouth as she giggled. Raven was curled up on her side, a thick comforter wrapped tightly around her. Her head was on Beast Boy's stomach as he laid stretched out beside her with his feet on the living room table. While his head was leaned back on the couch cushion he was resting on, one of his arms had fallen to rest on Raven and curl around her. His snoring was barely audible as she leaned in to give them each a peck on the cheek.

The Tamaranian quickly flew back out of the room and turned off the lights as she passed through the doors to return to the hallway. Her friends deserved some time off to sleep, and she enjoyed seeing them get along so well. Humming a lullaby to herself, she returned to her room to sleep for a few more hours. Perhaps, if Raven was still in a good mood later, she would accompany her to the mall…


	2. Arcade Trip Part 1

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

Raven still had no idea how she had ended up at the mall.

The morning had been awkward and eventful, compared to usual. After waking up to realize that she had been sleeping on _Beast Boy _of all people, she had fallen off of the couch and set off an explosion in the kitchen. The other Titan had jumped to his feet at the loud noise, but quickly tripped over his teammate and collapsed on the ground next to her. Their wide eyes had shared a brief, understanding moment before the others had come rushing into the main area. Robin's bo staff was raised, but it quickly lowered as he noticed the familiar spread of food and blue mold across the kitchen counters and ceiling. It wasn't the first time Raven had lost control of her powers.

Before they could be seen together, Raven had sunk into the floor and rose up in the middle of the mess, keeping her feet from touching the ground. She gave her friends an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'll clean it up."

While her friends had discussed their plans for the day on the couch, Raven had used her powers to swiftly put everything back in its place and wipe up the splatter of liquids that had escaped their containers. Although the mold had snarled angrily and fought against her, she had managed to shove it back in the cold compartment and slam the door shut.

Somewhere between the leader's speech regarding the day's break from training and Cyborg's explanation of the new defense system he was installing, Starfire had slipped in the idea to go to the mall. The others had happily agreed as they all loved escaping the Tower and visiting the city. Robin needed new clothes, Cyborg was low on oil, and Starfire and Beast Boy simply enjoyed being with their friends.

The empath had been busy cleaning and had unknowingly agreed to their plan.

Now, an hour or so after Starfire had dragged her out of her room to join the others in the car, Raven found herself being pulled into the doorway of the brightest shop in the mall. The alien girl's grip was too strong to escape, and Raven's eyes widened in fear as she found herself surrounded by aisles and aisles of pink and purple skirts and dresses. Her friend, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

"Look, Friend Raven! This is the shirt I purchased from here last time! And I am wearing it right now!" Raven looked up to see that Starfire had taken a similar pose as the mannequin she resembled. The girl's giggling was abundant. "Look, I am a plastic girl! I bet I am fooling many people!"

"I'm sure you are, Star," she replied in a monotone voice. While she loathed being in the store, she did enjoy making her friend happy. She quietly followed her around as they bounced from rack to rack, the pile of cloth in Starfire's arms growing higher and higher. After blowing through the accessories, they finally arrived at the changing rooms thirty minutes later.

A mountain of pink and purple suddenly appeared above Raven, and the half-demon was knocked down to the ground. Starfire gasped and bit her lip nervously until Raven's head poked out and she glared at the alien floating above her. "Oops! My apologies! I just need you to hold these while I try them all on. This is my favorite part!"

The changing room door slammed shut and more tittering reached Raven's ears. She accepted her fate and leaned her head in one hand, closing her eyes to half-listen to the Tamaranian's rambles while she dressed. The brief meditation she was achieving caused her to only hear snippets of the one-sided conversation occurring.

"Robin will surely like this one, he liked the other one-"

"-and I don't know, maybe it is the Earth custom? But I-"

"-certainly mustard stains would not be so difficult to remove if-"

"-this one, and _oh, Raven_! It is just your size! You must surely try these on when I finish!"

Raven's head snapped up and her pulse quickened. This had happened once before, and she had been forced to remain at the mall all day as Starfire made her try on what felt like the entire shopping center. She had a drawer back at the Tower reserved solely for clothes the alien forced her to buy.

Digging her other hand out of the clothes pile, she quickly opened her communicator and sent out a message to the three other Titans. Asking for help was one of her least favorite things to do, but one of them could save her. She'd rather be with anyone other than-

"Why, hello Raven! How may I help you today?"

Her eyes struggled not to roll as she lowered her gaze to face the cheeky smile of Beast Boy. His face was pressed up on the screen and she could see the slight condensation his breath was leaving behind. He seemed to realize that he wasn't the one she was looking for, but that made him more determined to help her. She attempted to ignore him.

"Is Robin or Cyborg with you?"

His expression changed to one of mock pain as he dramatically grabbed at his chest and swooned. "That hurt, Rae. Am I not good enough for you?" She didn't answer, so he stopped his charade and shrugged, a pout tugging at his lips. "Honestly, no. They both ditched. I heard something about tacos, but I don't think they're still in the mall. Why? Do you need something?"

She debated whether or not she should tell him. Sure, she hated trying on the frilly mess that Starfire was likely to throw her way. Her pale skin was enough to blind people as it was. However, Beast Boy could be equally annoying. He refused to leave her alone, and he always insisted on getting in the way of her meditating.

Although, he had been awfully kind last night when she had experienced trouble sleeping…

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for offer-"

"_Raven! This one has sparkly lace! I cannot wait for you to try it on!"_

Beast Boy's face darkened for a moment and she began to groan. His eyes grew a glimmer of mischief as his grin widened, the fang glistening as it poked at his lip. "No, Beast Boy. Don't you even dare think about it."

The screen began to blur as he bounced up and down, an evil laugh building up from deep within his chest. She cursed Starfire beneath her breath.

"_Sparkly lace_? Raven, I have to see this. What store are you two in?" He didn't bother waiting for a reply. "Doesn't matter, I can follow your scent. Oh, man. Cyborg is going to be mad he missed this."

Raven panicked. It was bad enough that Starfire was making her put on the dress. Having Beast Boy see it would humiliate her. Knowing him, he would take a picture on his phone and send it to the team's technician, and the two would taunt her for the rest of the year. She could not allow that to happen.

"Don't bother, I'm leaving."

The bouncing on the other end stopped as her teammate froze. "What? No, wait!" He stuttered as he floundered for something to say to keep her from leaving. "I'll tell Starfire where you're going."

"_You_ don't know where I'm going, Beast Boy." Her eyes narrowed as he smiled maliciously again.

"I can sniff you out. I'll find you wherever you go, and I'll tell Starfire. Unless…"

She waited in silence for a minute before growing exasperated and half-yelling into the Communicator at the smug look on her friend's face. "Unless what?"

"There's a new arcade downtown that I've been meaning to visit, but Cyborg's been too busy to go with me. If you come, I'll tell Starfire that you took me home because I was sick." She opened her mouth to argue, but he put his finger on the screen as if to shush her. "She won't follow if she's in the middle of a shopping rampage, and we'll have a few hours before she gets back. By then, medicine would have kicked in and it would be okay for me to feel better."

Raven hated when he put her into predicaments like these. "What if I say no?"

"Then Starfire will find you, drag you back, and a picture of you in a dress will be the screensaver to the Tower's main computer for a month. Your choice."

The empath sighed deeply and glared at the screen. His face lit up as he saw her surrender. "Just for a few hours?"

"You know, you're kind of cute when you want to kill me."


	3. Arcade Trip Part 2

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

A gunshot suddenly blasted in Raven's ear as she stumbled in the foggy darkness, her head swimming in noise. Strobe lights were flashing on the ceiling as hundreds of various games gave off alternating patterns of colors. The lingering smell of nachos and sweat hung in the thick air as she coughed, spinning around to try and find the green teen that had led her into such a horrible place. She could distantly hear bells chiming and an explosion shook the upstairs, causing dust to fall from the ceiling and land on her cloak.

Through the dim lighting, she saw a hand snag hers and yank her forward. Her pulse quickened until she saw the lean silhouette of her guide against the flickering shadows of the crowd- _Beast Boy_. She let him lead her to the back corner of the downstairs area, where the fog was being circulated through a ceiling vent. He gave her a floppy smile and began to insert a dollar into the coin machine that was placed directly beneath the vent. She leaned against the machine and glared out at the steady throb of children and teenagers rushing past them.

"You _like _this?"

He grinned up at her as the coins poured into his greedy hands. "Yeah! It's exciting and fun! Plus it's hard to see in, so a lot of people don't realize who I am right away." She stopped her retort at his last statement. Raven knew that Beast Boy had his insecurities, and his skin color was one. While he played it off as an attractive feature, his exaggerations often revealed how much he missed being normal. Even in animal form, fans could always tell it was him.

He stood up and squinted his eyes, peering out into the fog as the coins clanged noisily in his fingers. "Now, which game to pick. Do you like dancing?" Her face dropped any emotion and her eyes dulled to half-open, violet orbs.

"With all of my heart."

"Right. Well, do you like _watching _people dance? 'Cause I can bust a move." Her eyebrows raised in disbelief, causing his to cast downward. "I'm serious! I have the top score at all of the other arcades. Come on!"

Beast Boy messily shoved the coins into his pockets and tugged on Raven's hand again, pulling her back into the crowded area. Before she could protest, she found herself next to a glowing platform with arrows on it. Her green friend had already hopped on it and was busy tapping on some screen. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the bar that was keeping the platform separated from the rest of the arcade.

"You ready for this?" he asked, flashing her a brief smirk. His finger slammed on his song choice and the lights began to flicker and shine various colors. Music suddenly roared through the speakers surrounding the game and almost knocked the empath off of her feet. Irritated, she pulled her hood over her face.

Beast Boy's feet began to move slowly at first, and then gradually picked up speed. They pounded along with the rhythm of the song- one she had never heard of- and the resulting good scores sounded from the screen in front of him.

_Alright! Nice moves!_

_ Perfect step! Keep it up!_

The changling cheered as the music ended and pumped his fists in the air. "Another high score! Told you, Rae!" He spun and held up a hand to high-five. After rolling her eyes again, she reluctantly high-fived him back, scowling the entire time. His initials were entered within a minute and they flashed at the top of the score list.

"Cyborg may be good at racing games, but he'll never beat me at this," Beast Boy exclaimed, hopping down to join her on the floor.

"Maybe that's because his feet are mechanical and can't move as quickly as yours."

His celebration stopped as he processed what she had said. Raven didn't like the look he gave her. "So, you're saying that he just can't beat me because he's robotic? That if he were normal, he could?"

"Obviously."

"Well, you're not robotic. Think you could beat me?"

"Nice try. I'm not playing the stupid game."

Even a quick transformation into a puppy couldn't alter her decision. He changed back and frowned, looking around the room. "What about a different game, then? Obviously a quieter one." After a few minutes and some complaining from other kids who wanted a turn on the dance platform, he spotted a machine that he thought would appeal to the half-demon. "This way!"

He didn't grab her hand this time, and while she liked the freedom of walking at her own pace, Raven found herself almost missing his touch as she walked across the noisy floor. His hand had been warm and friendly against hers and-

_What?_

Shaking her head to scatter her confusing thoughts, Raven found herself in front of the last game she would have expected to end up at. After a reassuring nod from Beast Boy that it was indeed the right game, she sighed. Perhaps he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

"Whack-a-Mole? Really?"

"Well, I know you can't really express your emotions, and that fighting sometimes releases some of that pent-up stuff, so I figured you might enjoy this. You just hit the mole with the hammer."

"I understand how the game works. But I'm not playing it."

This time his eyes rolled. "Why won't you even try it? You're already here, can't you just have fun for once?"

Raven grew quiet at his last statement. She knew that she was most reserved on the team, but it was mostly due to her powers. While the others could laugh and enjoy themselves, she constantly had to keep her emotions under control. It wasn't often that she could let loose safely. While the others knew her predicament, it still sometimes hurt that her friends saw her as boring and bland.

Beast Boy seemed to sense what his words had done and flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." She looked down at the ground, trying to keep his guilt from rushing over her. "I know I'm boring."

"No! You're not! I know it's 'cause you have to watch what you feel, but that's why I picked this game. It's a way to just… let it out. You know?"

She looked up and saw that he was smiling and holding the hammer out for her. Her fingers tentatively wrapped around the handle and took it from him before she shifted her gaze over to the game. The other Titan plopped two coins into the slot and the soft music began to play.

A mole popped up on the left of the board and she slowly put the hammer down on the spot, missing it as it quickly went back down. She missed the next two as well, as the mole seemingly jumped from spot to spot just ahead of her swing. She was playing the game for her friend, but that didn't mean she had to try.

"Come on, Raven! Little kids can play better than that!" She gave her friend a dead-pan look that said 'As if I care' and continued to purposely miss the mole. He growled as the music stopped playing and the game ended.

"Can we go home now?"

His exasperation was growing almost tangible. "Look, we're not leaving until you actually play the game. We'll stay here all night if we have to-"

A passing employer stuck his head in their direction to briefly add, "We're only open until eleven" as he walked to the back counter.

"-We'll stay here until eleven if we have to," Beast Boy continued, hardly missing a beat. After another silent moment, his eyes narrowed and he exhaled loudly, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. You forced this upon yourself."

"What are you-"

In a flash- a _green flash_\- her cloak vanished from where it had been comfortably resting across her shoulders and mysteriously flew into one of the holes in the Whack-a-Mole board. Raven's face paled as her hands quickly wrapped around her thin arms, a blush reddening her cheeks as she realized that she was exposed to the gamers. Sure, she was still wearing her leotard, but she had always felt as though she were naked when her cloak wasn't there to offer its protection. The crowd of people in the fog didn't seem to notice her predicament, but she was thoroughly embarrassed either way.

A tiny green mole poked its head out of one of the holes in front of her, the corner of her cloak caught within its teeth. Her shame fell way to anger as she saw the snarky grin on the animal's face. She knew what he was planning, but she couldn't seem to stop herself as her shaky hands tightened their grip on the hammer and raised it above her head.

"Oh, you are _so _dead!"

Though he managed to avoid the first few swings, soon Raven was able to anticipate where her teammate would appear next, and smacked him repeatedly until a dazed teenager tumbled out of the game, collapsing onto the floor next to her. A giggle escaped her lips as she watched him fall, but she quickly quieted herself, snatching back the cloak and reattaching it to her uniform. Beast Boy unsteadily climbed to his feet.

"Wow. I didn't think that would actually work. You know, you probably would have set a high score if the game was on." Although slightly rattled, his eyes seemed to glimmer with something akin to pride. Raven hadn't seen that look very often.

"Don't you _ever _do something like that again, or I will send you to another dimension. Understand?"

The changeling saluted bravely, laughing as her irritated face slowly gave way to an amused smile. "Come on, we can go now, it's getting late. Starfire will probably leave the mall within the next hour or so."

The two slowly made their way to the entrance of the arcade, breathing in the cool night air as it rushed into them. The stars were difficult to see in the midst of the city lights, but the moon was large and bright, looming over the two as it hung low over the skyscrapers above them. Raven was about to take flight when she heard her companion mumble something to her left.

"What was that?"

His cheeks grew a bit rosy as he coughed, repeating what he had previously said. "I like your laugh. I heard you giggle when I turned back." His arms immediately rose to a defensive position. He already knew that he was pushing his boundaries with the dark girl next to him, and the reminder of her emotional slip might have pushed her over the edge.

"Yeah, well…" she started hesitantly, "…don't get used to it."

Beast Boy could only stand quietly in awe as her feet lifted off of the sidewalk and she began the journey back to the Tower. The only other time he had heard her laugh was when they had first started the team, and that had obviously been an accident. Now it had happened again, and she wasn't even going to hurt him for pointing it out? He was thoroughly confused.

But… strangely… he was okay with it.


	4. Fumbling Fights

**Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! You all are so lovely for putting up with me and my crazy schedule for posting these.**

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

The first sensation he became aware of was the cold pavement against his cheek. His eyes slowly blinked open, taking in the image of a blurry flying truck in the sky. A rumble thundered, shaking the ground and rattling his head. With unsteady hands, Beast Boy lifted himself to his elbows, squinting against the searing headache that accompanied his movement. He could feel heavy beads of blood dripping down the side of his face and grimaced as he lightly touched a stinging wound near his hairline.

Frenzied shouts drew his attention away from his wound and down to the battle taking place down the street. His hazy vision focused on a sharp gleam of metal- _Cyborg_\- powering through a large piece of rubble to smash into Cinderblock, drawing his attention away from the alien girl he was previously attacking. Starfire continued her assault of starbolts, aggravating the criminal while the other Titan fought him from below.

Robin had his bo staff held fast in his hand, standing off to the side as he waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. Beast Boy could almost see his eyes calculating when to throw a grenade at the behemoth before him. Normally the leader was the first into the heat of battle, but Cinderblock was different. Hand-to-hand combat was not as efficient as his friends' powers. So, he used more strategy than pure aggression.

The green teenager flinched as a hand settled lightly on his shoulder, but he relaxed as he looked upwards. Concerned violet orbs gazed back down at him, a small smile of relief passing over Raven's lips as she glanced over his injuries. He let her help him to a sitting position against a store front, both cringing as the occasional battle cry erupted from a mile down the road.

"Does it hurt very much?"

He shook his head, and then regretted it as his vision swam and his stomach turned. "Not really, but I feel all out of it. Moving makes me feel nauseous." He paused to groan, resting one hand on his midsection. "What happened?"

She seemed worried that he didn't remember, but a faint blue glow surrounded her hands as she set to work healing him. "Cinderblock managed to hit you with an eighteen-wheeler while you were in the middle of transforming. He threw it after you, but I set it down further away while Starfire distracted him." He sighed as the cooling touch of her magic slowly dwindled away, leaving a distant ache where he had hit his head on the pavement, like an old bruise. "You should be fine now."

"Thanks. We should get back-"

"No," she interrupted, blushing slightly as he gave her a strange look. "I healed you, but it's still not completely gone. Especially because you might have had a concussion. Head injuries aren't as easy to fix as broken bones are. It would be safer for you to sit out the rest of the battle."

"Sit out? What, am I chopped liver? I can do it, Rae!" He jumped to his feet and turned to run, but found that his shaky legs would hardly support him. The empath was next to him in a flash, supporting his weight with his arm around her shoulder and her hand around his waist. "Whoah, what?"

She gritted her teeth, helping him back down. "Like I said, head injuries aren't my specialty. It's still going to take a few hours for it to completely heal. You should rest while we-"

"_RAE, LOOK OUT!_"

She hardly had time to blink before a large cement hand slammed into her side, knocking her across the street and into the window of a local thrift store. Beast Boy's shout still rung in her ears as her eyes opened, blinking in the harsh light that spilled onto the store carpet where she was resting. Glass sparkled around her as she got to her knees, gagging at the sight of her own blood splattered lightly across the broken pieces. A tinkling sound brushed her ears as she crawled out of the hole she had created in the window.

Cinderblock was standing where she had been seconds ago, towering over Beast Boy as he scuttled backwards across the sidewalk. She could see his face contorted in concentration as he attempted to morph, but his head injury kept him from properly accessing his powers. A brief look to her left revealed that Robin had also been hurt, and that Starfire was busy tending to him to help with her other teammates. Cyborg was nowhere to be found.

She could do this.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven shouted, levitating into the air on the boost of her mantra. She created two large hands of black magic and used them to rip the nearby streetlights out. They easily wrapped around Cinderblock's torso, pinning his arms to his sides and keeping him from snatching the changeling furiously still trying to defend himself.

Landing in front of her friend, she spared him a quick reassuring smile. His eyes were wide with frustration and confusion, but they also showed a hint of trust. Beast Boy had never liked relying on others for help- none of the Titans did-, but he knew that he couldn't protect himself as he was. His faith resided solidly in the half-demon fighting before him.

A large _snap _blasted in the two heroes' ears as Cinderblock managed to break his bindings. Raven quickly created an ebony shield around herself and Beast Boy, grunting as the hefty criminal pounded his powerful fists against it. Her lean friend got to his feet and slowly made his way toward her, struggling to stay upright. She hardly noticed, her attention solely focused on maintaining the shield.

"Raven," he started, pausing as he surprised her and caused a momentary weakness of the shield. A car crashed into it and Raven's feet slid backwards a few inches as she struggled to maintain her hold. Her teeth were clenched together in determination, her arms thrown out in front of her to spread the influence of her magic.

"_What?_" she hissed, more out of pain than of annoyance, which was the usual tone she took with him.

"Form a ramp with your power."

She ignored him for a few moments as she concentrated on Cinderblock's new artillery of bulldozers. They creaked as they flew in the air, causing the energy shield to shudder as each one banged into it. Right as he was about to repeat his statement, her eyebrows furrowed together. "What?"

"Form a ramp with your powers."

"Why? There isn't anything to launch at him, except…" as she trailed off, Beast Boy's eyes squinted upwards in confirmation. Her confused face stared back at his, tightening slightly as Cinderblock resorted back to punching the shield with his fists. "But, he wouldn't. Would he?"

He shrugged, almost grinning. "We had talked about it before while I was helping him clean the living room, and he seemed excited. Now seems as good a time as any to try it. I can hear him coming, anyway."

Raven's face flickered with doubt, but the back of the black bubble encasing them began to flatten into a steep slope. A distant roaring from behind them began to increase in volume. Beast Boy had already been hurt in this battle, along with Robin, and she hadn't even been able to heal them. She wouldn't be able to stand herself if it happened again. "But what if-"

"S'okay," he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder and flashing her a grin. "He'll be fine." She nodded back, steepening the ramp some more.

Within a minute, a loud revving filled the street, and the T-car screeched around the corner behind them. The window was down, and even though Raven was focused on her magic, she couldn't repress an amused sigh as a loud "BOOYAH!" bounced around the storefronts. The automobile screeched onto her ramp and shot into the air, knocking Cinderblock to the ground before he could raise a hand to defend himself. Dust and bits of pavement rose in a dense fog and the empath released her hold on the shield, causing her and Beast Boy to start coughing in the gritty air.

"Cyborg?" Beast Boy called, placing a hand back onto Raven's shoulder to support himself as they looked cautiously into the cloudy impact zone. They heard a brief whining, almost as if wheels were spinning and attempting to free themselves from mud, and the T-car emerged victorious as it drifted out of the fog. The two Titans on the sidewalk gaped as they saw that it hadn't even received a scratch.

"New defensive shield enabled last week," Cyborg smugly bragged at their expressions, pulling up beside them. His arm was casually leaning out of his window as his other hand pulled down sunglasses to look solidly at them and their injuries. Despite his concern, he seemed relaxed, as though he hadn't just flown a car at a monster. "B.B., you okay?"

The green Titan gave him a thumbs-up, grinning widely. "Dude, that was awesome! Is he down?"

"He's out harder than you after Christmas dinner. Can you two direct the police while I check on Rob and Star? We are so going for pizza after this."

As he took off again, Beast Boy only had time for a quick yelp of "IT BETTER BE VEGETARIAN!" before the two remaining teens were left by themselves again. They hobbled over to the other side of the street, where the cautious police officers were beginning to emerge. Raven frowned at the window she had accidentally destroyed, feeling bad for the owners, but she knew that the police would help pay to have it fixed.

"So, uh, thanks again for the help. It's nice to have a healer on the team," Beast Boy smiled, pointing at his head. When she didn't respond, he caught her looking at the window and gasped. "I forgot about you hitting that store! Are _you _alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a few scratches, but once we sit down for a while they'll heal quickly. I'll need to meditate when we get home, and then I might be able to clear away the rest of the concussion."

He shook his head as they collapsed onto a bench, waiting for the officers to walk over to them. The two were sitting closer together than usual as the dark girl had been escorting Beast Boy, but she didn't bring up her usual retort about personal space. She also didn't say anything when his hand came to rest right next to hers, their pinkie fingers barely touching, though her breath did briefly catch in her throat.

Trying to ignore the pink rising in his cheeks, Beast Boy shook his head again, this time just to shake away the happy anxiety growing high up in his stomach. "Nah, I think it's mostly gone. I'm feeling a lot better."

"Good," she replied hesitantly.

Another moment of silence festered into a strong uncomfortableness as the two both tried to come up with something to stimulate the conversation. Finally, Beast Boy blurted out, "I want to meditate with you," and Raven internally thanked him for taking the initiative.

"You… want to meditate. You know that involves being quiet. No talking?"

His nervous laughter seemed to be shared with her a lot more often than usual, and this conversation did not fail to induce it.

"Yeah, I know. But I figured I might as well try it. Plus you've saved my butt how many times now, and all I do is bother you when you try it in the living room." She couldn't believe the maturity he was displaying.

"Oh… um, yeah. That would be nice. I've taught Starfire before, I'm sure I could teach you." His eyes widened as he turned to face her, trying to ignore their proximity.

"Really? I thought you would just yell at me. Thank you!"

Before he could stop himself, his arms were around her as he pulled her into a tight hug. Raven froze, the top of her face peeking out over his shoulder. The two had only hugged once before, right after her breakup with Malchior. _She _had been the one to hug him, and it had certainly been awkward.

Her hands gently patted his shoulders as she waited for him to release her. "You're doing the thing where you hug me, Beast Boy." Slowly, he drew back, smiling at her the whole time. His mouth opened to speak, but right before he could, a police officer finally walked up to them to ask about the battle. The Titan's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I'll talk to him. You should go find the others and see if Robin needs healing."

Their departure was similar to many they had shared during previous battles, but for some reason, Raven felt empty as she rose to fly to meet her friends. It wasn't until she was coming in for landing that she realized it was that she missed the feeling of her friend's arms around her. She wasn't sure why, he _was _just a friend. And the hug was been uncomfortable. If there was one thing Raven knew about herself, it was that she didn't like hugs.

So why was she so upset that it was over?


	5. Silkie Struggles

**Thank you all for the reviews! If you have any suggestions for chapters, I would love to hear them :) This one isn't my best, but it'll do.**

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

"Forget it, man."

"But Cyborg-"

"I'm not helping you. Not after… last time."

"Robin?"

"I'm with Cyborg on this one. You're on your own."

The three Titans were reclining on the wide couch in the Tower's living room, enjoying the remainder of a lazy Sunday. Crime levels had been low all week, and they had experienced the first day off in a long time. Rather than running out to hit the beach or visit the city, the teenagers were doing what they do best: relaxing. That is, two of them were relaxing.

The third was struggling to remain upright on the couch as he held a squirming Silkie in his arms.

"Come on, he needs a bath, and I can't do it by myself! Starfire's visiting Tamaran, who's going to help me?" The half-metal man looked over at his team leader and the two shrugged. Honestly, they didn't even realize that the mutant larvae needed to be bathed. While he occasionally ate random pieces of furniture around the Tower- forcing the team to deal with him- Beast Boy and Starfire usually handled all of Silkie's caring. Cyborg had only helped bath the pet once, and he had lost part of an arm doing so.

"Keep looking, grass stain. I'm about to beat Wonder Boy's butt racing, and that is _all _I plan on doing for the rest of the day." Robin's head turned sharply to the right at his friend's comment, a sly grin curving the edges of his lips upwards.

"Is that so? You're on!"

Beast Boy groaned as the two quickly set up the videogame, controllers flying into their hands before Robin could even finish speaking. Within minutes, loud engines and screaming filled the room. With a pang of irritation, he realized that part of the shrieking came from the pink creature in his hands as it continued to writhe in his grip. He knew that the mutant preferred his alien teammate to him, but at the moment, all he cared about was getting the gross thing clean.

It was with that one-track determination that the green Titan found himself in front of a formidable door with the word 'RAVEN' written at the top. He knew that asking for help from her was a long-shot, but he had nowhere else to turn to. While he had never seen the girl interact with Silkie before, he could predict that it would not end well. Giving himself a moment to prepare for her reaction, he was caught off guard by a sudden yelp and flash of magic from inside the empath's room. His hand hovered in front of the metal door, fist ready to knock. He needed help, but he didn't want to interrupt... whatever she was doing. Another shriek changed his mind.

"Uh, Raven? Is everything alright in there-"

As he spoke, his eyes drifted downward and he noticed the Silkie-sized hole at the bottom of her door. His skin froze as he realized the pet had escaped his grasp without his knowledge- he was distracted _way_ too easily- and had broken into his teammate's room. The one that everyone was banned from. The one that probably housed a plethora of cursed objects that could kill him on the spot. His heart jumped to his throat as he heard one last cry and a low voice call out his name, anger dripping from each word.

"_**BEAST BOY!**_"

The door was open in a second as he sped into the room, tripping over his feet at the sight in front of him. Raven was on the floor, her back pressed against the floorboard of her bed as she scrambled to keep Silkie at bay. Her hands futilely held him above her as he wriggled, trying to get closer to the panicking girl beneath him. Slime covered half of her hair and part of her face from where Silkie had surprised her and attacked, licking ferociously. Her feet slid useless across the carpet as she struggled to fight off the creature, her back slowly sliding down the wood behind her as Silkie's surprisingly large amount of weight forced her to the ground. While her eyes were wide with fright, they almost flashed red when they caught glance of the teen standing in her doorway.

"_**HELP ME!**_"

"Oh, snap! Right!" He raced over and reached down, violently tugging on the larvae until he managed to pull Silkie off, almost falling from the effort. Raven was breathing heavily as she looked up at him, her shirt crumpled from the fight. The two gazed at the squirming creature, one in awe and the other in hatred. After giving his friend a moment to recover, Beast Boy hesitantly laughed and held out a hand to help her up.

"I'm assuming that this would be a bad time to ask if you would help me give him a bath." The glare he received set his hair standing straight-up, goosebumps prickling the back of his neck. Her slender hand slid into his as he lifted her to her feet, her mouth set in a determined frown. "Although," he said, taking in her ruffled appearance, "you might need one as well with all of the slime on your face. He must really like you."

"Like me? That was disgusting. Why is he so heavy?"

Beast Boy felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face as he grinned. "He sort of ate my dresser before I realized that he needed a bath. Whoops. Normally Star takes care of him, but since she's gone on her trip, I guess it's up to me."

Raven opened her mouth with pursed lips as if to say no, then slowly raised a hand to touch the dripping mess of goop sliding out of her hair and down past her ear. Visibly shivering, she reluctantly nodded. "Alright, I'll help you this once, but only because _I_ need to wash off as well." Her hand flew out as he turned to walk behind her. "No! Not my bathroom. He shouldn't even be in my _bedroom_."

"Heh. Hallway bathroom it is."

The two shuffled down to the tiny bathroom located between their respected rooms to find the door fortunately unlocked. Beast Boy accurately guessed that the other two Titans were still engaged in their videogame. He was about to step in when Raven shoved past him, obviously still irritated, heading straight for the tub. With a casual flick of her hand, the faucet started releasing a torrent of hot water, and she plugged the bottom of the tub as well. A dollop of soap floated underneath the stream and bubbles began to rise. Beast Boy cautiously followed, leaning over to switch the fan on before kneeling down beside Raven, Silkie in his lap. The pet had surprisingly remained calm upon entering the bathroom, and the changeling petted him absent-mindedly.

While they waited for the tub to fill, the green Titan looked over at his disgusted friend. She was tugging on a strand of her hair that was stuck together in the mass of saliva. Although she was covered in slime, he enjoyed the opportunity to see her without her hood up. She always tried to hide her face from others, but she deserved to be seen. He was grateful for her trust in letting him see her so exposed. Blinking, he realized that she was staring back at him, a curious look on her face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied too quickly, turning away. Coughing, he focused on the matter at hand. The tub was full, so it was time to start the bath. "Okay, this is the hard part. Prepare to get wet. _Very _wet." He cautiously lifted the heavy mutant into the air and held him over the water. Right as the larvae realized his predicament, his second owner dropped him into the sudsy water.

And all Hell broke loose.

A high-pitched wail filled the room as Silkie thrashed about in the water, flicking soap into the faces of the two teens. He started trying to climb out, sloshing the bath water over the sides of the tub as he used his mouth to spit bubbles at Beast Boy. The latter was yelling, plunging his hands into the tub to try and grab the larvae and hold him in the tub. The two fought for what seemed like an eternity but was only a few minutes before the kneeling teen began to scream at his friend. "RAVEN, START SCRUBBING!"

The half-demon's face was pale as the scene before her unraveled. Her loose jeans were already soaked as water covered an inch or two of the bathroom floor from Silkie's struggles. Bits of the soap bar were caught in the slime still sticking to her hair from the battle, and she was sure that bruises would dot her arms from Beast Boy's flying elbows as he pushed the pink creature further into the tub. She finally realized what he was yelling at her after he shouted in her ear, and she grabbed the rag sitting on the floor between them. Standing up to get a better angle, she leaned over her friend's shoulder and attempted to scrub the flailing thing.

What both of the teens failed to remember was how much Silkie had adored the girl trying to get him clean, and what had occurred only minutes beforehand in her room.

The second Raven's hand touched Silkie's side, he ceased his fight with Beast Boy and spun in his hands, launching himself at Raven's face again. The green Titan failed to catch his pet, and watched in horror as it landed in her hair, grabbing at the roots before sliding backwards. Raven panicked as she felt the heavy weight pull her forward and into her friend's shoulder. The soap and water covering both of them failed to provide any traction, and she flipped right over him. Into the tub.

Water erupted, drenching Beast Boy as he jumped to his feet to see water swirling below him as knees, hands, and feet thrashed around in the bubbles. A scream echoed throughout the room, but he couldn't tell if it belonged to Silkie or to the empath. He leaned forward as the water calmed, a hand hesitantly reaching over to pull someone out.

Suddenly, a pale face shot upwards as Raven gasped for air, blinking soap out of her eyes. Her hair clung to the sides of her face and neck, glowing a dark lavender as it dripped water back into the tub. The shirt she was wearing- thankfully a black one- hung tightly around her body, the dark denim of her wet jeans poking out of the water as her knees bent upwards. Silkie was resting comfortably in her lap in the water, cooing happily even as she began to shake with anger and embarrassment.

Beast Boy's breath caught in his throat as he waited for her reaction, but eventually, his fear transitioned into amusement. A huge laugh ripped out of his throat as he slid back to his knees, trying to stop. The teenager in the bathtub scowled at him but didn't move, knowing that Silkie would just attack her again. She waited impatiently for the other Titan to stop making fun of her, but he couldn't stop snickering.

"Ha ha, you should have seen your face! Ah ha ha ha!"

"Don't make me hurt you, or Silkie."

"Oh ho ho! I know you won't! I can't believe you _fell in! _Ah ha ha!"

"I mean it! I might be wet, but I can still use my powers."

He held up one hand while wiping a tear away with another, chuckles still rumbling his chest. "No, wait! He's not fighting anymore. Could you try scrubbing him from in there?" She shot him her classic _No, I am not interested in playing Stankball _look, implying that she would do no such thing. His eyes rolled and his hands landed on his hips as he returned the sass. "If you get out he's just going to jump on you again. This is the easiest way to do this. Besides, you got a bath, too!"

Five minutes later, Beast Boy happily strolled out of the bathroom, a clean Silkie in his arms. Raven followed behind, a towel draped across her shoulders as she shivered in the cool hallway. Water dripped onto the floor in her wake. The changeling turned to face her, keeping a strong grip on the mutant larvae as it attempted to jump at her again.

"Thanks for that. Who knew you had such a way with animals?"

"I wish I didn't," she mumbled, wringing out her hair and letting the excess water _plop _against the carpet.

"So, would you be up to helping next time as well?"

Her eyes bored holes into his even as the veil of dark energy surrounded her and sunk her into the floor. He smiled down at the tiny puddle left behind, happy that the others hadn't come back and found them. Raven would have exploded if the other Titans had seen her stuck in a tub with Silkie.

He hummed as he strolled back to his room, feeling lighter than air. Spending time with Raven always made him happy, really happy. And they had been hanging out more than usual lately, which he was glad for. The giddy weightlessness had him feeling like he was floating as he reached his door, reaching over to type in the passcode.

With his free hand.

A jolt shot through him as he realized _why _he was feeling so much lighter, and he looked down to see his empty hands. Turning, he noticed a small trail of sliming leading back toward Raven's room…

Another shriek rang through the hall.


	6. Christmas Time

**I have a lot of explaining to do.**

**First off: I am going to temporarily(?) take down Hypnotic Hysteria Part 1. I started the second part of the story arc a while ago, but I can't seem to find the rest of the story. I will definitely keep it stored and I promise to return to it and try to continue it eventually, but for now I'm removing it from the series, as more writing and editing needs to be done. Sorry! ****I also wanted to apologize for taking so long to update. **

**Thank you so much for the favs, follows, and reviews! I would still love to hear suggestions, as they really motivate me to write _and _to update, because I love seeing your reactions!**

**So here is the Christmas update. I hope you like it! It was a bit rushed, but I don't care enough to fix it. (And no worries, the ending will be explained a bit better in chapters to come).**

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

"I still can't believe I got you to decorate the tree," Beast Boy remarked, dipping his hand into the large storage box to grab another chain of popcorn. He grimaced as he pulled it out, the caramel sticking to his fingers as it had slightly melted in the heat of the attic. This year's December had been warm, so no one had expected a white Christmas. The gooey caramel was just icing on the cake. "This is your first year doing it, right?"

"It'll be my last if you don't quit talking about it."

The changeling chuckled in response as he leaned around the tree. Raven was on her tiptoes, placing a toy ornament of the Tower near the top. He wasn't sure why she didn't just float to reach the higher spots, but he was amused as she struggled to decorate the smaller branches. He laughed as she resorted to jumping, then froze as she spun to face him. The empath flashed him an icy glare, and he leaned back to resume his task of untying the popcorn chain.

The rest of the team had left for the mall. Unsurprising to all, Raven had already purchased her gifts well in advance and had no need to leave. Her alien teammate had begged her to join the group anyway, claiming that they could partake in the "skating on ice" while enjoying the "chocolate beverage served hot," but she had refused. The half-demon was terrified of what could happen, especially after her last adventure with Starfire.

The unusual discovery of the morning was when the team leaned that Beast Boy's gifts were also prepared. Normally the green teen would be scrambling to get his presents ready before Christmas morning (sometimes failing), but he had been determined to be ready ahead of time this year, and he had succeeded. The others shrugged it off as a fluke before they pulled on their winter gear and headed out to the mall.

The two Titans left in the Tower had spent the majority of the day in silence. Beast Boy had played a video game or two on the main television, keeping the volume low so as not to disturb Raven. She had kept to the windowsill, her nose buried in a book. Both were surprised at the lack of arguing, but neither had mentioned it to the other, choosing instead to enjoy the rare bliss. Beast Boy had been equally startled when she had agreed to help trim the tree without any sort of begging on his part.

Soothing Christmas music filled the room as the two worked, and the lights had been kept low. The few gifts already wrapped had been placed on the other side of the living room to avoid being stepped on, but the tree was almost done. The huge bins surrounding the pair were empty other than a handful of other decorations and gingerbread crumbs that had gathered in the corners. Beast Boy hadn't said anything when Raven had started humming with the music, but he was oddly disappointed when it stopped.

"Why do we have an ornament of a pickle? Is this yours?" she asked, drawing him out of his thoughts. He leaned around the tree again to see her holding the tiny glass ornament in her palm while she gave him a quizzical look. Smirking, he pulled it out of her tiny hands and held it up to the light to see it better.

"I forgot we had this. I don't think we did it last year."

She put her hands on her hips as she sighed, obviously not receiving the answer she had wanted. "Did what?"

Beast Boy grinned at her question. It wasn't often that _he _knew something that _she _didn't. Unless he counted videogames. Then he knew a lot more. "Oh ho ho! I know something that the great all-knowing Raven doesn't! Looks like you aren't as smart as you think you are!" He smiled wider at her frown. "Maybe I won't even tell you."

Raven rolled her eyes. "I can just use the computer to look it up if you won't tell me."

He faltered, knowing that she was right. Still, he had enjoyed being the smarter one for about a minute. That was enough for him. "Fine. It's the pickle, you know. The old German tradition."

Her face was blank as she gazed back at him.

"Actually, it might have been Polish."

"Last I checked, none of us are German or Polish," she replied, reaching back into the box for another ornament. She pulled out a tiny puppet and they both cringed, remembering a certain bad experience with puppets. After glancing up at him to exchange a sullen look, Raven slowly put it back.

He scratched his head, trying to recall where they had acquired the pickle. "I think Robin learned it from Tim. He told me the story once- something about a girl named Wagner?- but I don't remember. Basically, you put the pickle ornament on the tree last. Then whoever finds the pickle gets an extra gift. Fun, right?"

The pale Titan shook her head. "It's creepy enough that you celebrate some old man watching you all year long and sneaking into your home. Trying to find a pickle is just weird. Why have an extra gift? That doesn't seem fair."

"I don't know," he said. "It's just… tradition."

They paused in their conversation to finish the tree. Raven added the star to the top- floating this time- and Beast Boy finished wrapping the popcorn around the branches. While he stepped back and licked his fingers, the empath used her powers to cut off the room lights and turn on the lights decorating the tree. They admired their work for a moment before the changeling rushed back to grab the presents and place them at the bottom.

"Now it's perfect."

The two Titans sat on the couch, still looking over at the tree to marvel at its beauty. The ornaments were an odd mix of classical spheres that Cyborg and Robin had picked out and random toys and knick-knacks that Starfire had begged for. Beast Boy had been in charge of the lights and garland, hence why it had been made with popcorn years ago. Raven normally didn't participate in trimming the tree, so the only part that had been contributed by her were half of the gifts surrounding the base.

"Do you have any holiday traditions?"

Beast Boy watched as Raven gave him an odd glance. The Titans knew that she wasn't raised to celebrate Christmas, but unlike Starfire, she hadn't jumped at the opportunity to join a new holiday. The half-demon preferred to stay quiet and out of the way while the others made the Tower festive. She had decided to start joining in the gift-giving part of the holiday a few years ago, but the green Titan didn't think about how she might have had her own traditions before now.

"Not exactly. The only thing that might be considered tradition on Azarath would be…" She hesitated, looking down at her lap. Beast Boy saw her fingers start curling around themselves as she fidgeted nervously, so he placed his hand over hers and gave her an encouraging smile. "Sometimes the people of Azarath would stay inside on my birthday. Out of fear.

"The skies there are normally an emerald color, but when I was born, they turned black. The entire world shook, and the air smelled like Brimstone. Everyone was terrified. Even though that only happened that once, a lot of Azarathians still hid on my birthday in case something terrible happened." She frowned. "It makes sense, though. I mean, I _did _become the portal, and I _did _let Trigon-"

"Hey," Beast Boy said, interrupting her. She looked over at him with wide eyes. "You didn't _let _Trigon do anything. You beat him." A weak smile appeared on her face and his heart jumped with happiness. "So let's talk about something else. I heard you humming earlier, I didn't realize that you knew all the songs."

He knew she was fine when she lightly punched him in the shoulder. "I don't know most of them, but when you keep playing that Hawaiian one over and over it's kind of impossible not to learn the tune."

Before he could respond, the lights on the tree flickered out and the two were plunged into darkness. Beast Boy turned to look over the back of the couch, trying to see what had happened. He sighed when he saw that the cord was hanging out of the socket, slightly unplugged. "We need to get new lights. These are too old and keep unplugging themselves."

"I have some."

"You do?" When he looked back, she was gone. He sighed again. "You should really give a warning before you just disappear and-"

"I'm right here," she snapped, and he yelped as she appeared right in front of him. "Take these." She shoved the lights into his hands and then slowly made her way back to her seat, feeling her way there. He stifled a laugh, forgetting that she couldn't see as well in the dark as he could. After a moment of debating whether or not to scare her, he decided that he enjoyed living and chose not to.

The lights were wrapped around the tree within a few minutes, and he plugged the cord in with pride. A warm red glow filled the room as the lights clicked on. While the old ones were all yellow, these alternated between red and pale yellow, casting shadows across the floor. Raven's unhappy face was illuminated in the dim lighting.

"I wish they weren't so creepy," she muttered, tilting her head to give the tree a better look. "I liked the other ones better."

Beast Boy jumped back onto the couch, earning him another quick glare as he knocked into his teammate. "Nah, I like these. Red is a Christmassy color. Plus it's cool to have something from you on the tree, too. Now it's _really _a Titan tree."

Raven gave him a strange look before nodded, her visage lightening. "Yeah, I guess so."

A loud slam gave them a slight warning before a streak of purple shot into the room. Starfire landed on the carpet in front of them, four bags in each hand. Her hair was ruffled from the fast flight, but her happy demeanor made it clear that she didn't care. "Friends! I cannot wait to tell you what I have bought you from the mall! Raven, I got you a-"

"Whoah, girl! You can't tell them what you bought." Cyborg and Robin strolled into the room and set their bags down on the kitchen counters. The team mechanic gave Starfire an exasperated look, clearly worn out from their trip. "You gotta wrap them and give them the gifts tomorrow."

She nodded in excitement and flew through the doors at the side of the room on the hunt for wrapping paper. Robin walked up to the couch and leaned against the back of it, reaching back with one hand to ruffle Beast Boy's hair. The changeling pulled away and scowled at him. "The tree looks a lot better than usual. Did you finally realize that you had to decorate the front _and _the back of the tree?"

"_No,_" Beast Boy retorted, annoyed with the leader's lack of confidence in him. Then his face froze. "I mean, _yes_." An elbow to his side made him cough. "I mean, I actually had help this year. Raven did a lot of it."

All three heard a crash from the kitchen area, followed by a quiet curse. They turned to see their friend dropping to his knees to pick up the fallen bags. "Raven helped put up ornaments?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, I did," she replied, slightly irritated at Cyborg's surprise. "And obviously I should do it more often, as no one else knows how to decorate a tree."

Robin laughed. "Probably. I'm surprised the popcorn is still there, I figured Beast Boy would have eaten it by now." There was another laugh from Cyborg's direction, and the green teen muttered something angrily to himself. "Well, I'm gonna hit the shower before bed. See you all in the morning."

Beast Boy noticed a smudge of green left in one of the boxes and squinted to see what it was from his seat. He thought that they had gotten all of the ornaments. "By the way, I like the lights, Rae," Robin added as he stepped out of the room. The shape-shifter turned to see his friend slightly blush before pulling her knees up to her chest to hug them.

"Wait, how did _Robin _know about those lights?" Before she could answer, he realized something else. "And how come you don't care when _he _calls you Rae?"

"Well, I'm bushed, and this sounds like the start of another argument. 'Night, y'all." Both teens waved goodnight to Cyborg as he yawned and left.

"_Robin _is a good friend who acts mature, so he's allowed in my room occasionally." Beast Boy gasped loudly, dramatically acting as though he was going to cry. Raven rolled her eyes as she placed her head sideways against the tops of her knees. "And he can call me Rae because he doesn't annoy me. Most of the time."

Another squint gave Beast Boy the answer he needed about the green mystery in the box, and he grinned deviously before resuming his charade of being hurt. "I thought that we were friends, Rae-_ven_. I guess you don't care about me as much as I thought you did. Excuse me while I go cry myself to sleep."

He stood up to go, but paused as he heard an exaggerated sigh from behind him. "Fine. You can come hang out in my room tomorrow afternoon-" He spun, a smile stretching from ear to ear. "-_IF _you promise to be quiet and not disturb me while I meditate."

"Deal," the changeling answered, holding out a hand. She grabbed it, but before she could shake, he surprised her by yanking her to her feet. She stumbled, and he reached forward to catch her before she could fall. A blush rose on her cheeks as she looked up at him, both frozen for a few seconds before she pulled away. He didn't let go of her hands.

"What are you doing?"

"I need you to prove that you _do _care about me. Otherwise I'll be jealous of Mr. Traffic Light, our relationship will be ruined, and eventually the whole team will fall into chaos." She gave him a deadpan look, but he just gave her puppy eyes and whimpered.

Raven tried to pull her hands away, but he tightened his grip so that she couldn't leave. "Just tell me what you want me to do before I blast you out the window." He laughed.

"I haven't heard that threat in a while." Releasing one of her small hands, the green teen reached into the box to pull out what he had been staring at for the past few minutes. He immediately felt the empath try to pull away again. "Now, now. It's only fair."

"How is mistletoe the same as seeing some dumb lights in my room, Garfield?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I just really want a kiss from you and I'm using this as an excuse." The blush on her face deepened, and he watched as she tried to use her free hand to pull up her hood, only to realize that she was wearing a sweater instead of her cloak. "Come on, it can't be _that _bad. I've heard that I'm an excellent kisser."

Raven fidgeted more as he raised his arm to hold the mistletoe above both of them. After she accepted the fact that she wasn't escaping without using her powers, she gave up and stopped. Expecting a different answer, Beast Boy's heart stopped when she hesitantly opened her mouth to speak.

"Just one kiss?"

He couldn't see his ears turning red, but he could feel the heat they started giving off as they stood up straighter against the side of his head. He had just meant to mess with her and then put the plant back as she teleported into her room, not to watch her accept the challenge. Nervous now, he lost some of the confidence that he had been riding on. "Uh, yeah. I guess. I mean, you don't-"

Raven quickly lifted her feet and leaned forward to peck him on the cheek, reaching upward to grab the mistletoe as she did. She threw it back in the box as she settled back on the ground, giving him a look somewhere between anger and amusement, and then promptly sank into the floor.

It took Beast Boy a moment to realize what had happened. She had left in such a hurry that he almost didn't feel the kiss. No- that was a lie. He had definitely felt the kiss. His entire body had stopped in place, heating up due to some emotion that he couldn't quite name.

He remained in the room much longer than she did, standing right where he had been when she had kissed him. One of his hands was lightly resting on his cheek as the warmth from the small kiss seemed to remain, rooting him to the spot. The moment kept replaying over and over in his mind, and he still couldn't comprehend what had happened.

Raven had… kissed him? _Him_? … _Kissed?!_

It hadn't been an actual kiss, but a small peck on the cheek was the most significant display of affection he had ever seen her show anyone. While he hadn't been spying on Raven and Malchior throughout their entire relationship, he had seen most of it, and they had never kissed. He had only seen Raven hug others, and even that was rare. Besides, most of those were shared with Robin, and he knew that there was nothing romantic occurring between the two of them.

Beast Boy kept thinking about it all night, and when the Titans gathered in the morning to exchange gifts, he was still baffled. Cyborg and Starfire both pointed out how oddly reserved he seemed, but he just shrugged and gave them both smiles before returning to his thoughts. Robin didn't say anything, but Beast Boy could feel his friend's calculating stare burning a hole into his back. Apparently he wasn't as good at hiding his emotions as he thought he was.

Raven was the same as always. It was as if nothing had occurred between the two of them. He kept trying to lock eyes with her, but she kept her gaze away. She was quiet, but no more silent than usual. When she opened her gifts, she thanked everyone politely, and even offered to make hot cocoa for the team afterwards. He eventually managed to corner her in the kitchen, but when she finally looked up at him, she remained calm and collected. Beast Boy wasn't sure how to bring the subject up. So he didn't.

She just handed him a mug of hot chocolate and walked away.


	7. Cyborg Speaks

**I know this one doesn't have our favorite green bean in it, but I felt as though this was necessary. Plus I love Raven's relationships with the other Titans as well.**

**I do not own Teen Titans.**

* * *

"Haven't seen you down here in a while."

Raven merely shrugged, pulling her feet up to sit cross-legged on the rolling stool. She had traveled down to the Tower garage, though she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Normally she felt comfortable coming to her friend for advice- after all, he treated her like a little sister. She enjoyed the familial relationship. Robin was great in certain situations, but sometimes he overanalyzed simple problems. Starfire would be too excited to take her seriously.

Beast Boy _was _the problem.

Cyborg treated her with respect. He would quietly listen to her struggles while working on his projects, and then the two would sit in silence until he thought of an appropriate response. It was a trait of his that Raven very much appreciated. Most people felt as though they needed to provide advice immediately after hearing a predicament, which is exactly why they often gave bad advice. Cyborg would take his time. He was strong, unyielding, and loyal. He was the rock she relied on in tough situations.

He was also, however, the best friend of a certain green mischief-maker that was causing her so much grief. She was relying on his promise not to tell others what she shared with him, despite knowing that he and Beast Boy had a knack for landing her in trouble.

"Everything's been… fine, lately," she said, knowing that her response was inadequate the second it left her mouth. Cyborg kept a fixed gaze on her a moment longer, waiting for her to continue. She coughed, hunching her shoulders a bit more as she crossed her arms and leaned on her knees. "How have you been?"

He looked at her a bit longer before turning back to his work, accepting that she was not ready to talk about whatever was bothering her. Raven bit her lip, not needing to read his thoughts to understand what was going through his mind. She had disappointed him somehow.

"I've been alright. Since that fight with Cinderblock, I've been making more adjustments to the T-Car. Using her as a secret weapon worked like a charm!" He sat upright on his creeper to kiss his 'baby,' wrapping his large arms around as much of the car as he could to hug it. "She's a tough one."

Raven's lips curled upward, her mood brightening in seconds due to his silly antics. "She certainly is." The mechanic lied back down, rolling under the car to continue tweaking something underneath. There were a few minutes of silence, and the empath tried to think of a way to sway the conversation to what she wanted to talk about. Despite cringing, knowing that her plan was idiotic, she continued with it. "Speaking of charm, how is everything with Bee going?"

A loud _clang _echoed throughout the spacious area as Cyborg slammed into the bottom of the T-Car. Profanity streamed from his mouth as he rolled back out, rubbing his head. His glower convinced her to refrain from smiling. "We're just friends."

"If she was just a friend, you wouldn't have hit your head," she countered, pointing to the growing lump on his forehead. A stream of blue flowed from her outstretched fingers to the bump, and the cybernetic teen slumped back onto his creeper in relief. While it had been funny, she had still felt bad about causing the injury. Healing him was the least she could do, even for a minor head bump.

"I don't know," he started, sliding off of the rolling device to sit on the floor and face her. "I mean, I thought something was happening there. She flirts with me all the time. I've seen her talk to other guys, she doesn't flirt as much with them!" Raven nodded in agreement. "But every time I bring up the subject of, you know, _us_, she finds some excuse to leave."

The half-demon dropped one leg off the chair, letting it swing beneath her as she thought. "Maybe she's just scared of commitment. I know that she and Herald had a brief thing, but he told me that she would never give him a straight answer when it came to their relationship."

"Maybe." He frowned, mulling over her reply. "I guess I just need to be moving on." Turning, he smiled at the T-Car. "At least I know of one gorgeous lady who won't ever leave me."

The two shared a laugh- one loud and boisterous, the other quiet and withdrawn- before turning to look at each other again. Raven squirmed slightly under his gaze, but forced herself to speak. Time for the moment of truth. "How did you know that you liked her?"

Cyborg's eyes widened and he snapped his mouth shut before he could say something that would set her off. She watched with caution as a plethora of facial expressions flashed over his visage before he regained his composure. It wasn't a surprise that he easily deduced the meaning behind the question, but she still felt on edge waiting for his response. This could have been a very bad mistake.

"Well, I really wanted to spend time with her. I would think of excuses just to be near her, 'cause just being in the same room made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. But it's not like in the movies, where everything is perfect!" He pointed at her with determination. "Don't let that cheesy romance ruin what you have. 'Cause romance doesn't work like that.

"She definitely had flaws. She wasn't perfect. But I liked her flaws, because they made her _her_, you know? And I would feel nervous and overconfident at the same time when I talked to her. I was so scared of saying the wrong thing, but she made me so happy that I felt like flying. It was kind of nauseating, but in a good way. And I'd keep thinking about what it would be like to hold her hand, or take her to the movies, or anything with just the two of us really, because I loved making her happy. I loved her smile, I loved her sass. I loved her… I loved _her_."

His gaze had lowered to the floor as the huge realization sunk in. Raven's heart was pounding in her chest. She had wanted a simple answer, not a proclamation of love. The current situation was making her slightly uncomfortable, but she owed Cyborg for the many times he had helped her, and she was not about to ditch her friend during his time of need. His shocked expression made her spine tingle, though. If love was that terrifying, she wanted no part of it.

"Aw, man. I loved her, Rae. And I just let her go."

She climbed off of the stool to sit beside him on the grimy floor, not caring if the dirt got on her pants. A brief memory of the two of them sitting outside a fast food restaurant, bonding over the loss of his stolen car, flashed through her mind. She had helped him before by connecting over a common feeling. She could do it again, even without the sixteen extra milkshakes.

"When I was younger, there was a girl my age who also lived in the Temple. I spent most of my time with Azar though, studying and practicing to control my powers, so I never saw her. I didn't know that she was there for the longest time.

"Sometimes, when I wasn't busy, I would leave my room to explore Azarath. The first time I went out, I got helplessly lost. I didn't know where I was and it was getting dark. The people of Azarath wouldn't stop to help me because they were scared of me, so I couldn't figure out how to get home. I was terrified, but the girl from the Temple saw me running around and helped me get back.

"I was excited at first to learn that someone else my age lived there. I hadn't ever had a friend, so it was a new experience for me. We would sneak around the city, pretending that we were on a different planet and that I didn't have powers that I constantly needed to worry about.

"But as I grew older, I realized that I liked her in a different way than I had when I was younger. We had always held hands, but I started longing for her touch. I had to focus more on my studies around then, but all I wanted to do was spend time with her. I would sneak out at night and the two of us would just lie outside the Temple on the ground, looking up at the sky and talking about life. She was my first kiss, and I loved her more than anything else.

"One day she invited a friend of hers with us. I was excited at first, as I still hadn't had much experience with other people. But when he walked in, she ran over to him and they kissed." She paused, seeing Cyborg's face flinch in pity. "I was heartbroken. I had thought that we were something special, but she obviously saw us in a different perspective. She hadn't even told me about her relationship with him because she knew how I felt about her.

"I was so upset that I refused to talk to her again. I poured everything I had into focusing my powers and gaining control, and I stopped leaving the Temple at night to explore with her. I had a messenger approach me once with an apology letter, but I burned it. I didn't even bother listening to her explanation.

"The point is," Raven said, taking a breath to gather her thoughts before she started rambling again. "I let her go. I didn't bother fighting for our relationship, and because of me, we never saw each other again. I lost someone I cared about a lot. Don't let that happen with Bee. You still have time to talk and figure it out."

A large metal hand gripped hers, and she looked up to see him grinning. "You're right, Rae. I shouldn't be moping about it while she moves on. I should be working with her to set things straight. Thanks."

She stood up and brushed some dirt off her legs. While she hadn't accomplished what she had meant to, she still appreciated the time spent with her friends, and was glad that she helped him work through his own problems. She incorrectly assumed that the conversation was over and that he had forgotten about her as she headed for the door.

"Now, none of this would have anything to do with a certain string-bean on the team, would it?"

Raven turned slowly, the hand she had on the handrail dropping to her side as she curled her fingers in dread. The other Titan simply grinned, amused at her embarrassment. Taking a deep breath, she walked back into the room and reclaimed the stool as hers. This had been what she wanted to take about, so she wasn't sure why she was filled with shame. She took another breath to calm her nerves before she risked looking back at him.

"How'd you know?" She didn't bother hiding the truth. This was one subject where Cyborg could see right through her, so there was no point.

The grin dropped from his face as he leaned back to rest his elbows on the creeper, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I think I've been guessing at it since Thanksgiving. You started acting a bit differently around him. I just watched you two interact, and it didn't take long to see what was going on."

Her blood froze and she felt chills down her spine. "Is it that obvious? Does everyone know? I wasn't even sure until Christmas Eve, when I-" She stopped talking before she blurted out anything she would regret.

Cyborg laughed at her sudden silence. "Don't worry, the two lovebird are too stuck in their own world to notice anything like that. Heck, I don't even think grass stain knows." His eyes squinted at her in amusement. "But what happened Christmas Eve? Do tell."

"He was teasing me, and he found some mistletoe, so- stop looking at me like that!" Cyborg's eyes had started bulging as he had obviously not expected her answer to involve the traditional kissing plant. "We didn't kiss! Well, I kinda… I kissed him on the cheek. Very quickly."

"And I thought you said you weren't sure."

"I wasn't! We were just, I don't know, teasing each other-"

"-Flirting, you mean-"

"-and he asked for a kiss, and for some reason I _kissed _him. I thought that it would be over after that, but then I went back to my room and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's Beast Boy! Why am I so confused? Ugh!" she groaned, rubbing her temples.

The team mechanic waited until she was finished ranting before speaking up. "It sounds to me like you aren't confused at all. You just don't want to accept how you feel, because you've never considered Beast Boy to be more than a slightly annoying friend before."

"I hate when people say 'more than friends,' because it implies that romantic relationships are more significant than platonic ones, which isn't true. But," she said, closing her eyes in defeat, "I get what you mean. I haven't really thought about how I feel before now. I just don't know what to do at this point."

"Just follow the advice you gave me," Cyborg suggested, flashing her a beaming smile. "Don't let it slip away. Go talk to him and figure it out. Between you and me, I'm pretty sure he likes you too."

The pale girl stood up, walking over to give him a high-five before heading for the stairs. It wasn't the same as a hug, but the two teens knew each other's boundaries and had an unspoken agreement to end every deep conversation with a high-five to leave it on a high note. She heard him slide back onto the creeper and roll under the car as she ascended the first step.

"Thanks, Cyborg."

He hollered a similar farewell, and she walked up, some of the dread in her chest gone. Raven had known what she had to do the whole time, but getting confirmation from Cyborg was all she needed to get ready for action. She _was _going to talk to Beast Boy, and they were going to figure this out together.

_When _she was going to do that was another question altogether.

* * *

**And because I feel as though some of you may ask: Raven is not straight in this story. I hardcore headcanon her as biromantic asexual, and that is going to reflect in my stories. This is still a BBRae fic, so don't fret. I just wanted to make it clear that _yes_, she did_ romantically_ love the girl she described in the story. It is important for invisible orientations to get representation, so I want you all to know that in this story**

**Raven**

**is**

**not**

**straight.**

_**At all.**_

**Thanks!**


End file.
